Dedicated to every Norwich City
Player since 1980

Chris
Sutton

Norwich
Career:

1991-1995
(127 appearances, 43 goals)

Current
Club:

Cromer
(Anglian Combination)

Date
of Birth:

10/03/1973

Nationality:

English

Biography

Chris Sutton gained a place in British football's history books
as the subject of the first £5million transfer between two
British clubs. This occurred in July 1994 when he joined Kenny
Dalglish's big spending Blackburn Rovers. Blackburn were not the
only side willing to pay this sum of money for Sutton's striking
talents in 1994. Arsenal, Tottenham, Manchester United, Liverpool,
Rangers and Inter Milan were all linked to him via the back pages
of the tabloids. The News of the World reported on October
26th 2003 that Man United manager Alex Ferguson even deployed
a team of SAS trained detectives to watch Sutton to see if there
were any unsavoury elements in his home life that would jeopardise
his playing career. United's former head of security, Michael
"Ned" Kelly spent 11 years in the elite Who Dares Wins
regiment before moving to Old Trafford. He is set to release details
of every operation he carried out in Manchester United: The Untold
Story  a book the club tried to ban. Kelly, 55, claimed
in his book that Sutton, one of the heroes of Norwich City's UEFA
cup side which beat Bayern Munich in Germany 10 years ago, was
followed by spies while playing for the Canaries. He claimed that
at the time, Manchester United were considering trying to sign
Sutton.

Mr Kelly said: "He'd never have been aware that, for
two weeks of his life, he was watched 24 hours a day. The then-head
scout at United, Les Kershaw, wanted a report. Chris played for
Norwich at the time and the surveillance team went over there,
'picked him up' after a City home game, then followed and photographed
his every move and checked out his associates."

Mr Kelly said that four people, including one woman, followed
Sutton wherever he went. He said: "The team was led by
two SAS guys who'd previously been with the Army's 14th Intelligence
Company in Northern Ireland  an elite unit that specialised
in undercover surveillance". Although Sutton was given
the all clear by the spies who tracked his every move, Mr Ferguson
decided not to sign Sutton, who left Norwich for Blackburn Rovers
in the summer of 1994 for a then British transfer record of £5
million

Why then was Sutton such hot property ?

The answer must be the 43 goals that he scored for Norwich in
127 games. This figure is all the more impressive when you consider
that 14 of these appearances were as substitute and that Chris
had often been deployed as a central defender. His tally of 28
goals in the 1993/94 season was the highest ever achieved by a
Norwich player in the top flight. Sutton enjoyed a meteoric success
rate, making his first team debut against Queen's Park Rangers
in May 1991 at the age of 18. This was just two years after his
Norwich youth debut against Millwall in April 1989. He gained
England Under 21 and England B caps whilst with the Canaries but
his international career has faltered whilst at Blackburn. In
addition to Sutton's obvious ability, he was seen as wise and
level headed player following in his father's footsteps. Mike
Sutton played 54 games for Norwich between 1963 and 1966. Chris'
level-headiness was not always in control and the night before
he signed his contract with Blackburn, was spent in police cells
following a fracas in Norwich city centre. All in all, £5
million for Sutton was an excellent fee for a player who had only
just topped 100 first team appearances. The shame is that chairman
Robert Chase did not invest this sum into the side. The loss of
Mike Walker, Ruel Fox and Sutton saw Norwich relegated from the Premiership
the following season. The question is where did the money go ?

In his first season with Rovers, he formed a formidable partnership
with Alan Shearer and this SAS partnership led to the Premiership
championship. His second season at Ewood park was marred by injury
whilst his third was spent without Shearer who had joined Newcastle
United for £15 million in the summer of 1996. He began the
1997/98 season in blistering form scoring a hat-trick in a 4-0
demolition of Aston Villa at Villa Park. This was followed by
a brace in the 7-2 thrashing of Sheffield Wednesday. Tabloid newspapers
linked him with a move to Arsenal to replace the aging Ian Wright.
Sutton's performances won him selection into the England squad
for the friendly international against Cameroon on 15th November
1997 and he made his international debut coming on as a substitute
for Paul Scholes in the last ten minutes of the 2-0 victory.

An international career and a place in Glenn Hoddle's England
squad for the 1998 World Cup in France looked assured for the
versatile Sutton who can play as centre-half as well as up front.
However when the squads were announced for the February friendly
with Chile, Sutton found himself dropped to the England B team
having been replaced in the full team by Liverpool's Michael Owen
and Coventry's Dion Dublin. Chris angrily stated that he was offended by
this considering his current form and that if Hoddle didn't want
him for the full team then Chris would not play for the B side
either. This much-publicised dispute resulted in Chris being effectively
ruled out of any future England squads whilst Hoddle was the National
team's manager.

Sutton's absence from the England squad has not diminished the
level of interest from other clubs in the early part of the 1998/99
season. Tottenham were linked in early September for a double
bid for Sutton and his Blackburn teammate Tim Sherwood. Spurs' interest in Sherwood was maintained
with bids rejected by Blackburn manager Roy Hodgson. On 7th October
1998, the national press reported that Aston Villa manager John
Gregory was willing to splash out on Sutton from the money received
from Manchester United for Dwight Yorke. Gregory's bid varied
from paper to paper with The Independent stating a total
of £11million whilst The Mirror suggested £10million
and The Telegraph opting for £8million. However Blackburn
issued a curt statement that Sutton was not for sale and that
he was under contract until June 2003. Blackburn also revealed
that there had been no formal contact rather that John Gregory
had made a private phone call to Roy Hodgson.

Blackburn's hope of letting such transfer speculation die did
not materialise as George Graham, newly appointed as manager of
Tottenham Hotspur, bid £10milllion for Sutton's services.
A £15million joint bid for Sutton and Sherwood was suggested
in the 18th November 1998 issue of the Daily Mirror. Villa manager
John Gregory was said to be willing to equal this offer although
his signing of Dion Dublin may reduce
his interest. The News of the World speculated on 28th
February 1999 that Chris was the primary target of Chelsea who
were willing to spend £10million on Sutton. However he publicly
denied that there is any truth in the rumours linking him with
Stamford Bridge.

Blackburn's relegation from the Premiership in 1999 led to more
speculation concerning Chris' future with Aston Villa supposedly
preparing a £10million bid whilst Chelsea were also interested.
The Evening Standard claimed on May 19th that Chris was
the prime target this summer for Tottenham manger George Graham
who wished to link Chris with former Norwich and Blackburn teammate
Tim Sherwood. A £10million bid was
supposedly being prepared. Football news service Team
Talk claimed that Leeds and Middlesboro were keen on securing
Chris' signature although the Daily Mirror reported that
Boro Assistant Manager Viv Anderson thought the £12million price
quoted for Sutton was too high. According to Sport First
on 6th June 1999, both Manchester United and Leeds are said to
be interested in signing Sutton. Whatever the outcome, Norwich
City can look forward to a third of the transfer fee. It appeared
unlikely that Chris would join Tottenham as they see Leicester's
Emile Heskey as better vale. Heskey would cost £7million compared
to a minimum of £10m for Sutton. This leaves Chelsea as front
runners to sign Sutton.

Chelsea eventually got their man in July 1999 signing Sutton for
£10million with approximately £500,000 going to the Canaries as
part of the sell-on clause. Chris made his Chelsea debut in a
pre-season friendly at Birmingham City on 17th July 1999 but did
not look like he had built up a good understanding with his colleagues.
The News of the World suggested the following day that
Chris might be a £10m supersub at the beginning of the season.
There is little doubt considering the return of goals in his first
6 months with Chelsea, that Chris' spell in West London has not
been productive. The arrival of former African Player of the Year
George Weah, on loan from AC Milan until the end of the season,
on January 11th sealed the end of Sutton's spell at Stamford Bridge.
Weah became an instant hero, coming off the bench to score the
winner on his debut against Spurs on 12th January 2000. In terms
of those ex-Canaries who have worn Chelsea blue, he was less like
Andy Townsend and more of a Stamford
Bridge flop like Robert Fleck. Sutton,
who ironically joined the game at the same time as Weah, was linked
with Leeds where Chairman Peter Risdale and manager David O'Leary
are said to be interested and considering a £5million bid. On
February 13th 2000, the Sunday People claimed that Celtic
were interested in signing Chris prior to the sacking of John
Barnes but that a bid might still happen.

On 15th March 2000, Teamtalk
suggested that Martin O'Neill would be
spending some of the £11million received from the sale of Emile
Heskey to Liverpool, on a new striker and that Chris was in the
frame for a move to Filbert Street where he would team up once
again with Darren Eadie. Reports in the
Evening Standard around transfer deadline day suggested
that George Graham was keen on bringing Chris to Spurs and that
a bid may be made this summer. This story resurfaced on 26th March
2000 with the Sunday Mirror claiming that Spurs were preparing
a £16m bid for Sutton and Man Utd's Ole Gunnar Solksjaer.
Chris was frozen out of Chelsea' victorious FA Cup final squad
on a day that the Blues were linked with a £17m move for Chilean
striker Marcelo Salas as a direct replacement for Sutton. Another
destination for Chris was suggested by Teamtalk on 6th June 2000
when it was suggested that he might return to the North West and
join Joe Royle's Manchester City who have
made enquiries about a £5million transfer. On 14th June 2000,
two more names were added to the equation by Teamtalk. Everton
were reported to have had a £5million bid rejected whilst Aston
Villa and Chelsea were said to be considering a straight swap
between Sutton and Villa's England international defender Gareth
Southgate. By the weekend of 17/18th June, Chelsea had agreed
a £6million transfer with Middlesbrough for Sutton's services
but Celtic's new manager Martin O'Neill
also submitted a bid of the same value for a player he has long
admired. Chelsea have accepted both offers and it was down to
Sutton to decide his destination.

Chris finally signed for Celtic on 10th July 2000 for £6million,
a Scottish record and a sum that Martin O'Neill described as a
snip considering his belief in Sutton's abilities. Chris certainly
made his mark with a goal on his league debut and a sending-off
the following week. A double in the 6-2 victory over Rangers in
the Old Firm derby on 27th August 2000 will ensure Chris' place
in Celtic folklore. Sutton's early form led to suggestions that
he might be called up into the injury hit England squad for the
2nd September 2000 friendly with France. Sutton's goals and partnership
with Henrik Larsson played a major role in Celtic's 2000/01 Scottish
Championship and League Cup victory. His form at the beginning
of the 2001/02 season suggested a return to the England squad.

In April 2003, it was suggested by a number of sources that Sutton
might return to the Premiership with Tottenham Hotspur the likely
destination. It was also suggested that Celtic would sign Ole
Gunnar Solksjaer as his replacement. The following month saw the
Sunday People claim on May 4th 2003 that Everton were preparing
a £3million swoop for Sutton to accompany Wayne Rooney up
front.

Celtic's failure to win any trophies in 2002/03 rankled with
Sutton especially as they lost out on goal difference to arch-rivals
Rangers on the final day of the Scottish Premiership. Sutton suggested
that Rangers' opponents Dunfermline "laid down" in their
6-1 defeat in their final game of the season. Despite a public
apology, Sutton looks likely to face disciplinary action and the
panel will not look favourably upon his double sending-off in
Celtic's final game of the season against Kilmarnock.

In the first week of 2004, Chris was linked with two return trips
to England. First of all, Sven Goran Eriksson's assistant Tord
Grip said he was impressed with Sutton's performances for Celtic
and would suggest a return to the England squad, possibly in a
central, holding midfield role. Secondly Blackburn manager Graeme
Souness revealled that if he had £1.5million, he would love
to bring Sutton back to Ewood Park. Chris was then linked with
a switch to Fulham who were looking for a new striker to replace
Louis Saha who had joined Manchester United for £12million.
Staying at Parkhead, Celtic won the Scottish Premiership for a
third time under O'Neill on April 18th 2004. A week later, Chris
was named Scottish Player of the Year.

Chris was linked with a return to Norwich in November 2004 but
this was dismissed by his agent. Internet chat rooms have been
buzzing with rumours that the Canaries are planning to boost their
Premiership survival bid during the January transfer window by
making an audacious bid for the Celtic star. But John Viola said
the gossip-mongers were well wide of the mark and insisted his
client, who is contracted to the Bhoys until June 2006, was perfectly
happy to continue his career north of the border. "Chris
is happy at Celtic and isn't interested in moving," he
said. "I would think Norwich would be wasting their time
if they tried to go for him. Chris is settled in Glasgow and that's
one of the main reasons why he agreed to sign a new contract."

In December 2005 with Sutton only having six months remaining
on his contract, the media began to speculate that a number of
English clubs would be seeking to bring him south of the border.
This led to rumours before Christmas that Norwich and Blackburn
were keen to bring him back, and at the end of the month that
Everton manager David Moyes had been in contact with Celtic about
Sutton's availability. In the end, Chris signed for Birmingham
City on 5th January 2006 on a free transfer until the end of the
2005/6 season. "It's obviously a huge disappointment to
lose a player of Chris' quality," said Celtic boss Gordon
Strachan. "The club has granted Chris his wish to move
on and I would like to wish him all the best for the future."

Sutton was released by Birmingham on 9th May 2006 following their
relegation to the Championship. However reports on 28th and 30th
July in a variety of papers suggest that Birmingham are about
to offer Sutton a new contract. It was then reported that other
clubs were interested in signing Sutton. Norwich fans were horrified
that Nigel Worthington kept dismissing links with Sutton but new
Ipswich manager Jim Magilton positively expressed his desire to
sign Sutton in early August 2006, on a pay-per-play deal. On 3rd
October 2006, Chris teamed up again with Martin O'Neill once again
when he signed a contract with Aston Villa

An eye injury sustained during a 23rd December 2006 clash with
Manchester United, led Sutton to announce his retirement in early
July 2007. Sutton's agent Tony McGill said "If Chris had
declared his eye was OK, he would probably have got another year
at Villa. But he decided that he could not do himself justice
with the eye injury and - more importantly - he has taken into
account the effects it might have on his future life.

Chris's former manager Dave Stringer
said that Sutton was up there with the best: He was a
big, quick, strong centre-forward and similar in some ways to
Ron Davies. It's not an easy thing to score as many goals as he
did. To get 25 in one Premiership season proved how good he was
and the fact that he was wanted by so many clubs is a good barometer.
He's had an excellent career, he's won things in England and Scotland
and there is no one more pleased than me to see how well he's
done"

In September 2007, Dereham Town manager Robert
Taylor enquired as to whether Sutton would come out of retirement
to play in the Ridgeons League. Taylor said I haven't
had the chance to speak to Chris at the moment. I just wanted
to know what the situation was, and whether he will be able to
play at any level. I just want to have a chat to see what he's
up to and whether he's going to play anywhere. It would be very
nice for us, certainly.

Chris was surprisingly appointed as Lincoln City's manager on
28th September 2009, with his former Blackburn teammate Ian Pearce
as his assistant. The 36-year-old, who was capped once by England,
succeeds Peter Jackson who was dismissed by the Imps at the beginning
of September. A club statement read: "We received over
70 applications for the vacant manager`s post and although this
double appointment could be seen as a calculated gamble, the board
have every confidence in Chris and Ian and are looking forward
to working with them. Both Chris and Ian impressed every member
of the board with their enthusiasm, ambition and preparation and
the decision to appoint them was a unanimous one."

Sutton and Pearce resigned from the Lincoln City job on the first
anniversary of his appointment, and after 51 games in charge,
citing personal reasons. Lincoln were 20th in the table at the
time of their departure.

In February 2011, he was linked with the managerial vacancy at
Ross County but lost out to Jimmy Calderwood

In October 2011, he released his autobiography "Paradise
and Beyond" which revealed the truth behind his sale to Blackburn.

In June 2012, Chris was named as a participant/director in the
K2 tax evasion scheme that comedian Jimmy Carr was revealed to
be part of.

On 6th October 2012, Sutton made his debut for Ryman Leaguers
Wroxham against Tilbury. Sutton, 39, started on the bench alongside
his son, youth team goalkeeper Oliver. The former City, Blackburn,
Chelsea and Celtic frontman came on after an hour, with Wroxham
trailing to a first half goal from Aaron Waters. By then, Sutton
jnr had also entered the fray, following an injury to Wroxham
keeper Michael Hilton early in
the second half  an incident which led to a skirmish on
the pitch involving nearly all 22 players

In November 2013, Sutton was linked with the managerial vacancy
at Scottish Premier League side Inverness Caledonian Thistle,
created when Terry Butcher left to join Hibs.

In the autumn of 2013, Sutton turned out for Anglian Combination
side Cromer Town.